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Michael Herbert, a 51-year-old resident of Delray Beach, Florida had never even completed a marathon. But last October, he did something seemingly impossible: He ran a 150-mile ultra marathon in the Sahara Desert.

What was his secret?

“I am a non-athlete who ran this thing,” said Herbert. “I didn’t have the luxury of genetics. I just had willpower.”

Though it seems as if it were easy, it wasn’t for Herbert. He lost 50 pounds training for the event over the course of a year. Herbert, a U.S. Navy veteran, ran the race to raise $50,000 for Caron Renaissance, an addiction treatment center. When he was 29, Herbert himself struggled with substance abuse and addiction.

Since 1999, he has worked at the Caron Renaissance as a therapist for patients and their families.

It took Herbert five days to complete the ultra marathon. He recalled that he felt like he was “going to die” throughout the race, but was inspired by former patients who had completed ultra marathons in Chile and China last year.

Duncan Larkin

Duncan Larkin is a freelance journalist and author who’s been covering the sport of running for over a decade. He’s run 2:32 in the marathon and won the Himalayan 100-Mile Stage Race in 2007. He wrote the book RUN SIMPLE, and coaches runners of all abilities.
You can learn more about him here: http://roadsmillslaps.tumblr.com/about